Community mourns Buddy Scotto, 91, praised as an ‘anchor’ of Carroll Gardens
Salvatore “Buddy” Scotto, a native of Carroll Gardens who became a beloved funeral director and community leader, died peacefully early Friday morning, September 11, 2020. He was 91.
Mr. Scotto’s death was reported over the weekend by several sources, including the Society of Old Brooklynites, Community Board 6 and the Scotto Funeral Home, a family business in which he was a third-generation funeral director.
Mike Racioppo, district leader of Community Board 6, called Buddy Scotto “a larger-than-life neighborhood leader and unofficial Mayor of Carroll Gardens who could never be ignored. At a time when many were leaving Brooklyn, including our cherished ‘South Brooklyn,’ he stayed and started civic, neighborhood, and political organizations that exist to this day. Once upon a time, he was even a community board member. He will be honored and remembered by people with far more stature than me, but I’m proud to have known him. There are many reading this message right now that I would’ve never met had it not been for Buddy.”